VOLUNTEER

Thank You Gainesvilles Volunteers

SAVE Dade wishes to thank everyone who helped defeat the discriminatory Charter Amendment 1 in Gainesville last month, which sought to repeal the rights and protections of the city’s LGBT citizens. Because of the time and commitment of so many valiant volunteers and organizations, the amendment was rejected by a vote of 58% to 42%.

For over a year, the conservative right waged a fear-based campaign, spreading dehumanizing lies in order to mislead voters toward an anti-gay agenda. SAVE Dade, along with so many of you, joined the state-wide initiative to make sure Gainesville’s citizens would not be deceived by the opposition’s crusade. Because of your efforts, Gainesville remains a progressive and fair-minded city and a beacon of equality in conservative north Florida.  

The victory in Gainesville proved to state officials that Floridians support equal rights for all people, and that discrimination will continue to become an injustice of the past, so long as we continue to fight it together. Times like these serve to prove the true power of people untied for a just cause. We showed that our voices cannot be silenced by the opposition. In fact, it renders us to come together and carry our message of equality further!

SAVE Dade would also like to thank all the volunteers who participated in the 20 phone banks we organized this year. Together with UM for Equality, these phone banks involved about 175 volunteers and yielded about 1,750 conversations with Gainesville voters about the prejudiced and harmful effects Charter Amendment 1 would have caused the city’s LGBT community and so many others.

We helped write this page in history; together we will ensure a future where all Floridians are equal.